Chapter Fourteen

Jacob looked down at Ellie. She had fallen fast asleep against his chest on the ride back to the ranch. He jumped from the saddle with her legs wrapped firmly around his waist and her arms around his neck. She moaned his name and turned her head so he could see her face as she slept. Her mouth was partially open. Her full soft lips looked entirely too kissable. Her cheeks were red and stained with tears as her long black lashes rested against them.

With her body pressed against him and her long pale legs wrapped around his waist, it was so easy to forget about who Ellie really was. She looked so innocent even as her body set his on fire, that he was tempted to just pretend the last twelve hours hadn't happened and take her inside, make love to her long and slow and just deal with things in the morning.

Jacob shook his head. He couldn't do that. He carried her into the house and laid her on the sofa. She gave a moan of protest and pouted out her bottom lip when he removed her arms from his neck. He covered her with the small throw on the sofa and then walked back outside to put the horses up.

He was tired, his head was pounding and he had a deep aching pain down in his soul that he knew wasn't going to go away any time soon. He unsaddled the horses, rubbed them down and put them back in their stalls before making his way back into the house. Ellie was still sound asleep and peaceful on the sofa. Jacob wished he could just let her sleep and get himself some sleep as well, but if her sister really was in trouble, they needed to talk about it.

He knelt beside the sofa and pushed her hair from her face, letting his fingers linger on her soft skin, "Ellie? Ellie, wake up. We need to talk."

She moaned his name again and snuggled deeper under the cover. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently, "Ellie, wake up," he called more sternly.

Her eyes opened and she sat up quickly, nearly knocking their heads together. Jacob rose to his full height as she looked around the living room, "What happened?" she asked.

"You fell asleep," he replied, "I put the horses up and then came back in here."

"The money...."

"By the door," he said, pointing to the pillowcase he'd taken from the saddlebags.

"I'm sorry, Jacob. I didn't have a choice!" she gasped, praying that he'd understand.

"I think that's your problem, Ellie. You refuse to see that you do have other choices. You could have told me sooner who you really were. You could have come to me and told me about your sister. You didn't have to steal money, silver and a horse and take off in the middle of the night. Do you know how foolish that was? Anything could have happened to you out there alone!" Jacob refused to acknowledge the fact that he was more upset over thinking that something bad could have happened to her than he was that she had stolen from them.

"I couldn't have come to you, Jacob! You refused to listen to a word I had to say... Not that I blame you," Her eyes dropped to the rug at their feet.

"I have always had a problem with shutting my mouth and opening my ears, but I promise to listen to you now," Jacob vowed, "Explain to me how you came to be with Otis and how much danger your sister is really in." Jacob still had a hard time believing that any man would stick a twelve year old girl in a saloon and tell the men to have at her.

"Sit down," Ellie urged and Jacob did as she told him and sat down on the cushion beside her. "I was fourteen when my mama died. Liza was two. My papa lost his mind. He didn't want kids anymore if he didn't have mama and he kicked us out and left us on our own. We had nothing. No home, no food and no clothes, except for what was on our backs. At first I begged for food or money but everyone just assumed I was a loose girl who had gotten myself with child and then the father had run off and I was raising my daughter alone. Not a single person would help me," Ellie shivered when she remembered the loneliness and desperation.

"The first thing I stole was a trench coat. I stole it from a man who had fallen asleep on a park bench so that Liza and I would have something to wrap up in as we slept in a doorway. The next day I stole food so that we would have something to eat. For two weeks I stole just enough so we would have food to eat. We were starving and I was sure that Liza wouldn't make it much longer. I had to get more money so we'd have somewhere to sleep that wasn't a doorway.

"I decided to try my hand at pick pocketing," she blushed with shame and picked at her skirt, "I found out that I was good at it and, while I never seemed to get enough for a hotel room, we were eating better. Then one day I was just about to pick this man's pockets that was walking down the road with his wife and children when Otis stopped me. He offered my sister and I a place to live. Warm, clean beds. Clothes. Food. Comfort. By the time I realized that Otis was a thief that trained thieves, it was too late to get away. I saw no way out and he wouldn't have let me leave if I had tried. When Liza turned six I knew I had to find a way to get her out of there. I did not want her living the kind of life I was. I had already formed a bond with Otis because I was so good at what I did and I managed to convince him to send Liza to a fancy school in New York. I haven't even seen her but maybe five or six times in the last six years," Ellie stopped talking and waited for his judgments.

"I'm sorry, Ellie. I'm sorry you had to go through that. You were too young to be on your own with a two year old. I was seventeen when I lost my family but at least I had the farm, worthless as it was, to provide for my sisters."

"I'm not proud of what I've done, Jacob, but I saw no other way to live. Ten years he had me in his grasp. Ten years I did whatever he told me. Whenever I acted as if I was ready to leave he would throw Liza in my face. He would threaten to quit paying for her schooling, bring her back and put her in his saloons."

Jacob felt a protective anger fill him. How dare that man put his Ellie through something like that. His Ellie? Yes she was his Ellie. It might take time to rebuild the trust that had been lost but he knew he would still live and die for her and her alone. She was his and he was hers.

"Do you really think he has your sister?" Jacob asked gently as he laid his hand on her leg and squeezed her knee comfortingly through the thin fabric of her skirt.

"Yes," Ellie said as she stared down at his hand. Her own hand was shaking as she laid it on top of his and he quickly pulled his hand off her knee and twined his fingers around hers.

"Will he really put her in that saloon?" Jacob asked as he rubbed his thumb back and forth across the smooth skin of her hand.

Ellie's eyes filled with fear and she nodded, "Yes. Any girl who doesn't have the knack for thieving is thrown into the saloon. He would have thrown her in the saloon just to get back at me. Jacob, I have to get her away from him."

He smiled as comfortingly as he could manage, "We'll get her away from him."

"We?" she asked cautiously.

Jacob sighed and put his hand on her cheek to turn her to face him, "I know you love me," he assured her, thinking back to the love they had made. "No woman is that good of an actress. I read the words you wrote about me in your diary. I wasn't seeing what they truly meant at the time because I was angry but I've had time to cool off. You were dealt a mean blow in life and you handled it the best way that you knew how," He frowned, "I do have one question though."

"What?"

"How long were you planning on robbing from me before you changed your mind?"

"The day after I arrived I knew I couldn't do it. I told Otis as much and you see what his response to that was."

"Is that why you suddenly starting dressing and acting differently?" he asked.

Ellie nodded, "I stopped being Alice Bradshaw and started being Ellie Thompson. I was just afraid to tell you because I knew you would all hate me. I was afraid that Brody would throw me in jail and Liza would be alone."

"I love you, Ellie," Jacob admitted and Ellie felt her breath catch in her chest. This was the first time that he was telling Ellie Thompson that he loved her. That was her name rolling off those lips... She wanted to kiss him but he stood quickly, breaking the spell that she had been in.

"We should leave and get to Cedar Falls so we can catch that train. I'll go let Brody know where we're going."

"Thank you, Jacob."

"You don't ever have to thank me, Ellie. I'd do anything for you." Before she could reply he walked out of the house. Ellie sank against the cushions and thanked God that Jacob was giving her another chance. He wasn't turning his back on her. He still loved her. She wasn't sure if their engagement was still on but she could worry about that later. He was going to help her get Liza away from Otis, and Ellie knew she would never again have to do what that fat, dirty bastard told her to.

***

"Jacob, you're my brother and I love you, but if you keep waking me up I am going to shoot you in the face," Brody warned with a yawn as he rubbed his face and leaned his rifle against the porch banister. Elizabeth nodded in agreement as she stood with Brody's arm wrapped tight around her shoulder.

Jacob sighed, "I need a gun, Brody. You got a revolver I could use?" Brody and Elizabeth shared a questioning look. As far as Brody knew, Jacob had never picked up a revolver. He had only ever used a rifle and that was only for hunting, "Why do you need a gun?" Brody asked.

Jacob quickly explained the situation. "Twelve and in a saloon?!" Elizabeth demanded with horror. She pulled out of Brody's arms and looked up at him, "You have to help that girl. Get her out of there."

Brody grumbled under his breath and nodded grudgingly. He looked back at his brother, "We'll stop in town and I'll get a revolver from the jail for ya. I'll deputize you while we're at it, just in case we have to blow a hole in old Otis."

The thought of murdering someone caused a sour feeling to fill Jacob's stomach, "Isn't San Antonio a little out of your jurisdiction?" he asked his younger brother.

Brody simply shrugged, "Police Chief Buckner and I served together in the war. I saved his life more than once so he owes me. We'll be fine. I'll go in and get dressed. Can't very well go gunning for someone in my long johns."

Brody and Elizabeth left Jacob standing on the porch and went up to their room. Elizabeth did her best to hide her fear and unease as Brody pulled off his long johns and slid into a pair of brown trousers, that hugged his lean legs and a crisp white shirt and brown vest that emphasized the broadness of his chest and shoulders. He hooked his gun belt on his lean hips, ran his hand through his shoulder length hair to comb out the tangles and stuck his hat on his head.

Elizabeth grabbed his badge off the dresser and with shaking hands she pinned it to his vest. She hated it when he rode into danger but she was a strong Texan woman and the wife of a tough as nails, ex army sheriff. She knew Brody could take care of himself.

"I'll expect supper ready when I get home," Brody said as he squeezed her shaking hand after she finished pinning on his badge. Elizabeth shook her head as she smoothed out his vest, "I told you before we got hitched that I wasn't the type of woman to sit at home and have supper ready for my man."

Brody could hear the nervousness in her voice, though he knew she was trying to hide it. He knew her too well for her to be able to hide anything from him. He put his hands on her cheeks and stroked her jaw lovingly, "I'll come home to you, cowgirl. Otis won't fight back; he's a coward deep down. Jacob and I will go in, get the girl and be back before you even get a chance to miss us."

"I know," she said with a half smile. "You're too damn ornery to die anyway."

Brody grinned and brushed his lips gently over hers, "That's right. God don't want me and the devil is afraid of me, so that means you get to keep me forever."

Elizabeth smiled, "Poor me." she sighed.

Brody chuckled and crushed her against him in a hug that stole her breath, "I love you. I'll be back just as soon as I can."

"I love you too. Look out for Jacob," she whispered as she stood buried in his chest.

"I will. The man don't know one end of a revolver from the other. He'll probably end up blowing his own foot off."

Elizabeth pulled away and raised on her toes to kiss him gently, "Let's go," she urged.

They walked back out to the porch to find Jacob pacing back and forth across the wooden boards, "Ya ready?" Brody asked.

"Yeah I'm ready."

"I take it this means you forgave Ellie?" Elizabeth asked Jacob as Brody went out to saddle his horse.

Jacob nodded, "She didn't see that she had a choice other than to do what she did."

"You love her?" Elizabeth asked.

Jacob blew out a long breath and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah. God help me, but yeah."

"But...? I sense there's a but coming," Elizabeth said, laying a gentle hand on his arm.

"I don't think I'm ready to just pick up and act like this never happened. I asked the woman to marry me when I thought she was a different woman. Now.... Now I'm not so sure I want to marry her. At least not yet."

Elizabeth smiled reassuringly, "You're a good man, Jacob. Give it time. Don't rush."

She rose on her toes and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek that had Brody clearing his throat as he walked up, leading his horse by the reins, "First you ask her to marry you and now you're stealing my goodbye kiss?"

Brody had a smile on his face but Elizabeth could hear just a touch of jealousy in his voice. She shook her head and took a step away from Jacob, "Calm down, Brody. Jacob is in love with somebody else."

Brody grabbed Elizabeth's arm and pulled her to him, "Glad to hear it." He gave her a hungry, passion filled kiss as Jacob mounted his horse. "Give the babies a kiss for me when they wake up," Brody whispered.

Elizabeth nodded, "Take care of yourself, sheriff," she said as Brody mounted his waiting horse.

He tipped his hat, "Always do, ma'am. Always do."